TCTM02286 - Non-parental caring arrangements exception

Tax Credits Act 2002, Section 9(3B)

The Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002, Reg. 12.

Note: Please make sure you have read TCTM02283 before reading any further.

Note: CTC child responsibility criteria must be satisfied before the ‘non-parental caring arrangements exception’ can be considered. TCTM02211 - Entitlement: CTC entitlement: care and adoption and TCTM02202 - Entitlement: CTC entitlement: normally lives with you.

A child or young person ‘A’ will receive an individual child element if they are the third or subsequent child and the claimant or at least one of the joint claimants is

(a) a “friend or family carer” in relation to ‘A’

Or

(b) responsible for a child or qualifying young person who is a parent of ‘A’ TCTM02206

Or

A claimant is already responsible for a child or qualifying young person who would meet the non-parental care exception criteria but the child or qualifying young person was born before 6 April 2017. They then have a third or subsequent child born on or after 6 April 2017, this new child (‘A’) can be treated as an exception as long as the claimant is not in receipt of the individual child element for 2 children to whom no exception applies.

Note: From 28 November 2018 the regulations changed for the adoption and non-parental care exceptions. The purpose of this was to ensure that a family that already cares for children who are adopted or cared for under a non-parental caring arrangement can receive CTC for up to two further children to whom no exception applies.

For the non-parental caring arrangements exception to apply, the claimant or at least one of the joint claimants should not be

(a) a parent of ‘A’
Or

(b) a step-parent of ‘A’

A “friend or family carer” means a person who is responsible for ‘A’ and is providing formal care for the child or young person and

(a) is named in a

(i) child arrangements order, under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (for England and Wales)
or

(ii) residence order under article 8 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

as a person with whom ‘A’ is to live

(b) is a guardian of ‘A’ appointed under

(i) section 5 of the Children Act 1989 (for England and Wales)

(ii) section 7 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995
or

(iii) article 159 or 160 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

(c) is a special guardian of ‘A’ appointed under section 14A of the Children Act

1989

(d) is entitled to a guardian’s allowance under section 77 of the Contributions and Benefits Act or section 77 of the Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 in respect of ‘A’

(e) is named on a kinship care order, as defined in section 72(1) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, in relation to ‘A’

(f) is a person in whom one or more of the parental responsibilities or parental rights described in section 1 or 2 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 are granted by a permanence order made in respect of ‘A’ under section 80 of that Act

(g) fell within any of paragraphs (a) to (f) immediately prior to ‘A’s 16th birthday and has since continued to be responsible for ‘A’

Or

(h)is providing informal care to ‘A’ in circumstances in which it is likely that ‘A’ would otherwise have had to have been looked after by a local authority

Examples: ‘A’ has no parents or adoptive parents or has parents or adoptive parents who are unable to care for ‘A’, and there are no other suitable arrangements.